Maybe it’s because I’m a veteran or maybe it’s because I’m old enough to remember the war that these older WWII guys fought, but I must admit that this video chokes me up.

Compared to many, my part was a pitiful fraction of what many guys went through. I was in during peace time and part of the ground crew for B-47’s (remember them?), so I was never in any real danger. I was in Gen. Curtis Lemay’s Strategic Air Command (SAC) so the most difficult thing I had to deal with were the periodic “alerts” where we prepared additional B-47’s to mimic an actual launch of our bombers to attack Russia. They were designed to be as real as could be so we’d be prepared if the Russians attacked. There was thought to be a real possibility of that happening. A number were always flying on an air alert status with “weapons”…